‘Noah’ a sprawling faith-based tale of love, devotion

So says one of Noah’s sons to his father, who is unwavering in his faith and devotion, to the point of murder, if it comes to that.

Noah’s reply: “He chose me because he knew I would finish the job, nothing more.”

Those words set the tone in Darren Aronofsky’s sprawling, compelling “Noah.” Noah, played by a bulked-up Russell Crowe, in this telling is a man with a massive job to do. Is it a literal interpretation of the Biblical story? No. Nor does it have to be. We see through the course of the film what blind devotion brings upon someone and the importance of forgiveness and love in the equation.

Sounds like the kind of thing a person of faith might find valuable. Yet many Christian (and Muslim) groups have denounced the film. My advice: See it first; then decide whether it’s worthy. You’re likely to find that it is.

Nothing if not ambitious, Aronofsky begins the film with a quick run-through of the creation, through Adam and Eve and the forbidden fruit, and Cain and Abel. The visuals are saturated with color, giving it a sort of overheated dreamlike feel. Now, 10 generations after the Garden of Eden, Noah and his family live in a barren wilderness rife with savages who roam the countryside, killing and eating animals (something Noah forbids his family to do) and killing the occasional person, while they’re at it.

In a dream Noah sees the earth destroyed by water, so he surmises that the creator — the word “God” is never mentioned in the film, but so worshipful is Noah that it hardly matters — is going to flood the world and destroy all life upon it. He also intuits that he is to build an ark to house all the beasts of the field, birds of the sky, etc.

This you probably know. Most civilizations, including those that predate the writing of the Bible, have a flood story. Here the wicked humans are the survivors of Cain, so they are murderous, having turned against the creator. Noah and his family are descendants of Seth, another son of Adam and Eve. Thus they are chosen to survive and start anew.

Or so we think.

Noah enlists the help of rock giants that are essentially fallen angels, and yes, they look like rock giants from a “Hobbit” movie or something. But without them the building of the massive ark just by Noah and his sons would be impossible. They also aid in keeping the savages, led by Tubal-cain (Ray Winstone), at bay. Tubal-cain believes man is superior to animals, so he wants to kill Noah and his family, and take the animals along as more or less an all-you-can-eat buffet.

Again, Aronofsky dives into territory that isn’t strictly scripture-based. There is also the matter of how Noah’s family will repopulate the earth. They have adopted Ila (Emma Watson), who becomes the wife of Shem (Douglas Booth). But an injury has left her barren, and Ham (Logan Lerman) and Japeth (Leo McHugh Carroll) are without any prospects, given that humanity is about to be destroyed.

Don’t worry, Noah says in what is a familiar refrain: Has the creator not always given us what we need?

Again, this is faith-based thought, based on trust. Where things go a little haywire is when Noah visits Tubal-cain’s village, which has descended into a free-for-all of murderous mayhem. He was looking for potential wives for his other sons but leaves disgusted with all of mankind, including himself.

This is the end, he decides. His family will protect the animals, see that they’re delivered safely to land and then live out their days until they, and all of humanity, die. Noah becomes obsessed with this idea, to the point of potentially doing his family harm. And yet, although this deviates greatly from the popular conception of Noah, it also allows room for forgiveness and redemption.

Some of the CGI effects come off a little cheesy (there are an awful lot of animals of all kinds to be loaded on-board, after all), but much of the film is visually stunning, with creative takes on such familiar themes as violence begetting violence.

Strictly as a film, you have to admire Aronofsky’s ambitious take on the story. And as theology, well, it may not hew exactly to the letter of the law, but the spirit survives intact.